Keeping medication out of reach of children is important. Thanks to Safe Kids Worldwide® for sponsoring this post about medication safety tips for kids.
When you have a sick little one at home, often the last thing you think of is to put the medication back in the cabinet after you’ve given them a dose. In our home, we do that because it is safer to put them away after every use. I am thankful that The Boy doesn’t get sick very often. When he does get sick, he rarely wants medicine because “it has too much sugar in it.” Those are his words, not mine. Well, those are my words about certain juices and snack foods, not about medicine. Because of his dislike for medicine, I feel that I have to worry about him getting into them, but I exercise caution anyway.
A few weeks ago, The Boy did come down with a fever. The fever lasted four days, our pediatrician told me that some children run fevers without showing any other symptoms and that we should alternate the medication we were giving him. I carefully read all the labels on the acetaminophen and ibuprofen – the dosages are different for each medication. Giving your child two or medicines that have the same active ingredient can put your child at risk for an overdose.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide®, every eight minutes, a young child goes to the emergency room for medicine poisoning. That statistic is alarming. It’s our job as parents to make sure medicine is safely put away out of children’s reach. We also need to be mindful of things that aren’t medicine, but may look like medicine to our children. Rubbing alcohol, eye drops, and gummy vitamins are things that aren’t medicine yet may appeal to children. These potentially harmful items should be stored in an area that your child cannot reach. We keep rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, eye drops, and mouthwash on the highest cabinet in our linen closet. I need a stool to reach them.
I’ve never thought about the guests that come into my home as being a danger to The Boy. But, children are curious and love to explore. It’s a good idea to offer to put handbags on a hook high out of reach and remind overnight guests to keep their medication in an area that isn’t accessible to children.
It doesn’t surprise me that children get into their mother’s medication more often than their father’s as many children spend more time with their mothers. I know that The Boy is always underfoot, it is rare that I have a minute alone while he is awake. I don’t take regular medications, but I do take a daily vitamin. Our vitamins are stored together in a kitchen cabinet out of The Boy’s reach. We take them at the same time each day. It’s probably not the best place for the quality of the vitamins, but it works as a matter convenience for us.
I recently programmed the number for The Poison Control Center into my cell phone. The number is 800-222-1212. You should program it into your phone, too. Just in case.
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Safe Kids Worldwide and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
Great post! We keep medication on the top shelf of our bathroom closet…high up where my son could not find it. I haven’t thought about purses of our guests though. I will have to be more mindful of their belongings so my kiddo doesn’t get into something he shouldn’t!
It’s scary, really. I hadn’t thought about visitors too much until I started thinking about my in-laws coming this summer. My father-in-law, unfortunately, takes several medications – we’ll be assigning him a special shelf for his visit!